Hughes success should change selectors’ mindset: Bill Lawry

Sydney, March 9 (IANS) Former Australian captain Bill Lawry Thursday called for an overhaul of cricket selection process, saying young Phil Hughes’ success has shown that a player doesn’t need to be 30-year-old to be inducted in the national team. Lawry, like Hughes, was a left-handed Australian opener who scored 5,234 runs at 47.14 in 67 Tests between 1961-71.

Lawry believes Hughes, 20, should have been picked earlier, claiming he was held back because of a selection process that required overhauling.

“The success of Hughes is a wake-up call to our selection panel that you don’t need to be of 30 years before you play for Australia,” Lawry was quoted as saying in Herald Sun.

“Mark Taylor told me 12 months ago that Hughes was something special and really he should have at least been picked when South Africa were here in the summer,” he said.

“He has come into the team in peak form and like most kids has no fear of failure. Who knows what he will end up achieving?,” he added.